Make Your Own: Essence (Worth the trouble)

By Faizah

13 Aug 2012

This is the recipe for Emeril’s Essence, a blend of spices used in most of his recipes. Since most of my recipes in this blog are basically Emeril’s, I figured I’d post the recipe here. I basically double the recipe and keep the whole thing in an airtight jar stashed in the freezer. Some of the ingredients may not be available in places like Giant or Tesco, but it is definitely well worth the trouble. The following recipe yields about 2/3 cup.

I saved some money by buying spices and herbs sold in packets (we have Meriah or Singlong here), instead of in those nifty jars (McCormick’s etc). Onion powder is not as easily found in hypermarkets, so look for them in mid-range or upmarket grocers like B.I.G., Cold Storage or Village Grocer.

In our humid Malaysian weather, I noticed that spices just don’t keep well in my cabinets. Stuff like garlic or onion powder absorb moisture and harden/masuk angin over time, while dried herbs like oregano and thyme, and even spices like cayenne pepper, have disgusting weevils in them. While it’s really nice and purty to have identical jars of spices lined on your shelf or kitchen cabinet, better to store them in a way that will let them keep for as long as you can.

Emeril’s Essence

Ingredients

2 1/2 tablespoons paprika

2 tablespoons salt

2 tablespoons garlic powder

1 tablespoon black pepper

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon dried thyme

Directions

Combine all ingredients thoroughly. Store in an airtight jar, in the freezer if you prefer.